Creamy and thick, this potato soup is topped with savory cheese, fresh chives and crumbled bacon. It tastes just like O’Charley’s loaded baked potato soup!
Cream-based, silky and rich, this is almost an exact copycat of O’Charley’s loaded baked potato soup. A delicious indulgence that will have you coming back for a second bowl!
Whenever we eat at O’Charley’s restaurant I inevitably chow down on two things… the dinner rolls (OMG they’re so good!) and the loaded baked potato soup! It’s so rich, so creamy, so cheesy and full of yumminess!
Over the years I’ve gone back to O’Charley’s and was a little disappointed to find that the soup had changed. It didn’t seem to have as much flavor, used different potatoes and the chives had disappeared completely. Bummer!!
I found a decent base recipe on CDKitchen, made a few tweaks and came up with a truly delicious copycat of the original!
Some of the parts of this soup can be made ahead of time, which can really cut down on the time spent in the kitchen on the night of.
The bacon can be cooked ahead of time and crumbled, chives can be chopped and kept in the refrigerator, and the potatoes can be par-boiled and kept in the refrigerator.
For this recipe, I think the garnishes are pretty much a “must”… they take a good soup and make it OMG great!
Just imagine diving into a bowl like that on a cold evening… perfection!
Soooooo creamy!!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs red potatoes
- chicken stock (enough to cover potatoes)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 cups half-and-half
- 4 cups milk
- 16 oz Velveeta cheese melted
- 3 cans Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
- 2 tsp Black pepper more or less, to taste
- 2 tsp Garlic powder more or less, to taste
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp hot sauce
- 1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- Fresh chives chopped
Instructions
- Wash and scrub potatoes. Dry, and dice into 1/2" cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with chicken stock, bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are 3/4 of the way cooked. Drain and set aside.
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter over MED heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Let flour mixture cook about 1-2 minutes.
- Carefully pour in half and half and milk, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until liquid is smooth and starts to thicken slightly.
- Add in melted Velveeta cheese and whisk to combine. Add in the cans of cheddar cheese soup and whisk until everything is smooth.
- Stir in hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder.
- Add in boiled potatoes, stir, and place lid on pot.
- Cook over LOW heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To Serve:
- Top individual servings with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon and fresh chives.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
More Great Soups and Comfort Foods!
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil and Parmesan Soup
Cheesy Roasted Poblano Potato Chowder
Ben says
Yall, this ain’t a one hour recipe. If you can clean, cut, and boil potatoes in ten minutes, good on you. A rue with all the milk, cream, and half in half takes times to warm up too. This is a three our dish at worst. Two hour at best. Delicious non the less!
Shelby says
I made this for the first time last night at like 11pm and it was so good. The ocharlies in my area is horrible now and I missed their soup and this was perfect.
Amy Paulette says
I’m looking for the pizza hut loaded potato soup recipe?
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t have a copycat recipe for that, so Google will be your best bet.
Brenda says
It was delicious!! I thought it was kinda bland before I added the potatoes, so I added a 1/2 tsp. of thyme, seasoned pepper, parsley, and onion powder. I also added 1/4 cup of sour cream when it cooled down a bit. There is only 2 of us, so I only measured for half the recipe. If you prepare the 6 serving recipe that’s noted, add additions to taste. It really helped. My hubby couldn’t stop eating it.
P.S. We had to walk 2 miles through our neighborhood to help me get rid of the guilt….LOL
Thanks Amanda. It was wonderful!!
Angela says
My whole family loves this soup. I am a soup fanatic and this hits the mark on deliciousness
Joyce says
This the best loaded potato soup I have found and I have tried a lot! Thanks for sharing!
Christina says
Ok. I love O’Charley’s. We haven’t lived near one in over 10 years. I almost cried when I ate this soup. Is it exactly the same? Probably not, but it’s damn close. So easy and so delicious. Perfect on a chilly fall day!
Pirk G Elliott says
Football day family favorite. Go Bengals
The Chunky Chef says
WHO-DEY!!
Amanda says
I am wondering about how much chicken broth was going to be needed? Should I buy the 32oz carton? My 20yr old daughter loves potato soup and I’m putting together a recipe book for her and really would like to add this for her. (Also every recipe that I have gotten from the web has the web address written on top for her to reference if needed). Thank you, Manna
The Chunky Chef says
First of all, I love that you’re making a recipe book for her… what a thoughtful gift! I would pick up a 32 oz carton, and if you need more liquid to cover the potatoes, you can supplement with water 🙂
Jodie Moss says
Best loaded potato soup recipe! And yes, tastes like O’Charley’s original recipe! I always make enough for us & my in-laws. I cannot go more than two months without them begging for it. We always pick up an order of fresh Texas Roadhouse rolls to go with this. It’s a perfect compliment.
I’ve shared your recipe with many & received nothing but great reviews! Thank you!
Erin says
Been making this for years! Perfection!
Jamie says
Ho there! Looks amazing the loaded baked potatoe soup! Question, can it be canned?
Thank you
Jamie Y
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t have the canning expertise to advise you if this could be canned or not. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
TA Flatland says
We loved this! THANKS for sharing 🙂
Johanna says
Hello! Can you freeze the leftovers?
The Chunky Chef says
Since dairy has a tendency to separate during the freezing and thawing process, I’ve not tested freezing this recipe, so I can’t say for certain how it’ll turn out.
Merrill Traywick says
Ne’er knew this, thank you for letting me know.
KAREN HOOVER says
Love this soup! Makes a large pot to enjoy!
Linda says
I had been paying $10.00 for a 20 something ounce of Schwann’s potato soup that was very good, but overpriced. So, I set out to find a homemade recipe that I like and OMG! This is Amazing. I like it so much that I’m going to try the Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese for my nieces and nephews. The only change I made to the potato soup is I use Yukon Gold potatoes because I’m not crazy about red potatoes. They pair well with this recipe and they’re very buttery in flavor. Thank you Amanda! I’ll be viewing and researching more of your recipes.
Amy says
Is this good reheated? Do I need to add anything to reheat it?
The Chunky Chef says
We love leftovers of this soup (if we can get any – our daughter is obsessed with potato soup lol)… and I usually just add a splash of chicken broth or even water to loosen it up a tiny bit 🙂
Dwight says
I have used this recipe at least a dozen times and it is always a family favorite!!
Thank you for posting 😉
Connie weikel says
Can u use 2% milk or do u have to use whole milk
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only made this recipe as written, so I can’t say for certain if 2% would be creamy enough.
Evelyn says
Hello! I’ve tried this recipe and loved it but I was wondering how would I go about making this in a slow cooker?? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain what the cooking times would be or if any changes would need to be made. If you do try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Jessie says
For some reason I couldn’t find Velveeta anywhere. So I just used extra shredded cheese and added a little bit of salt. It was still super creamy and delicious. I also used Yukon gold’s instead of red. It’s just what I had. I liked it!